This 2015 Recording King T36 has two metal rods that connect the banjo neck to the wooden rim called Coordinator Rods. These rods are used for stability as well as to adjust the neck angle. The top rod acts generally to help hold the neck in place and the bottom rod is used both to hold it in place and to adjust the neck angle. Here we see a very large bolt on the lower rod, much the same as in the Gibson banjos. Recording King is a brand of instrument currently owned by The Music Link Corporation and is located in Hayward California. The brand was originally a house brand of instruments made for the Montgomery Ward company.